Study demonstrates how we support our false beliefs

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/08/21/study.demonstrates.how.we.support.our.false.beliefs

In a study published in the most recent issue of the journal Sociological Inquiry, sociologists from four major research institutions focus on one of the most curious aspects of the 2004 presidential election: the strength and resilience of the belief among many Americans that Saddam Hussein was linked to the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Although this belief influenced the 2004 election, they claim it did not result from pro-Bush propaganda, but from an urgent need by many Americans to seek justification for a war already in progress.

The findings may illuminate reasons why some people form false beliefs about the pros and cons of health-care reform or regarding President Obama's citizenship, for example.

The study, "There Must Be a Reason: Osama, Saddam and Inferred Justification" calls such unsubstantiated beliefs "a serious challenge to democratic theory and practice" and considers how and why it was maintained by so many voters for so long in the absence of supporting evidence.

Co-author Steven Hoffman, Ph.D., visiting assistant professor of sociology at the University at Buffalo, says, "Our data shows substantial support for a cognitive theory known as 'motivated reasoning,' which suggests that rather than search rationally for information that either confirms or disconfirms a particular belief, people actually seek out information that confirms what they already believe.

The 'other' thread would have you believe it's reality TV, movies, or hip-hop.

We are hopeful here because we have a "free press" and stuff gets out, just not nearly enough or as loudly.

This is just a variation of the old story about the emperor having no clothes...

As you note in the OP, start with a belief, then the logic to support it will follow.

If the stars look like a hunter with a belt and a bow, it's because our mind's eye looks to see it.

The ability of humans to see what they wish to see is virtually limitless, and far more powerful than drugs, caffeine, sugar, crack, meth, or any other of substances that impair.

More people across the political spectrum.

They wanted to believe "because it helped them make sense of a current reality."

Which has always been my argument for the current manifestation of (insert belief system here: skepticism/scientism/religion) as a form of fundamentalism.